Parque Nacional La Güira (La Güira National Park) is in Pinar del Rio (province) of Cuba.

Culture and History

History

The national park had been the estate of a wealthy landowner who traded precious woods. His mansion and formal gardens are now in ruins.

More recently, the Cuevas de los Portales was the home of Che Guevara during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Landscape

The national park consists of 54,000 acres of mountain wilderness, in the Sierra de los Órganos mountains.

Flora and fauna

Climate

Travel to Parque Nacional La Güira - Visa Requirements

Fees/Permits

Tours and Getting around Parque Nacional La Güira

The road from La Güira to the Cuevas de los Portales is about 15 kilometers. It looks like it goes through the highest mountains, and is said to be very scenic. However, locals said that it's impassable by car. It might be a good hike or mountain bike ride.

A better, but longer, way to drive to the Cuevas de los Portales is on the highway from Entronque de Herradura to La Palma, about 20 kilometers.

Parque Nacional La Güira tourist attractions and sightseeing

The Mansion and Gardens

Cuevas de los Portales

This is one of the most beautiful places in Cuba, and certainly one of the least visited. A river cuts through a mountain, forming three joined caves. The caves are big and open so you don't need flashlights or a guide. The jungle outside the caves is wilderness.

Che Guevara lived in the cave in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He figured that if the Americans bombed the rest of Cuba, he'd be ready to lead the fight against the invaders. In and around the cave are plaques explaining that he played chess on this bench, wrote letters on this table, fired his rifle at that tree for practice, etc.

Parque Nacional La Güira city tours

Parque Nacional La Güira souvenirs and shopping

Parque Nacional La Güira Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

The restaurant near the mansion accepts only MN, not CUC.

Parque Nacional La Güira nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Parque Nacional La Güira cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Lodging

Camping

At the Cueves de los Portales, the government built a nice campismo or campground for Cubans to vacation. The cabins looked nice, if spartan. No one was camping there, just the caretaker. The bar and restaurant were closed.

Backcountry

Stay safe

Get out

This page was last edited by Wikitravel user Chapayev. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

Didn't find what you were looking for?
Submit your question to the Parque Nacional La Güira travel forum
Subject
Question / Comment
Note: HTML tags will be removed.
Your Name (required)
Your Email (will not be published) (required)
Website (Optional)

Note: Hitting submit you grant Traveltips24 the right to edit, display and store the content you provide.